Lady Slipper Orchids of 2022
Lady Slipper Orchid: Kennebunk Plains Sanctuary, Kennebunk, Maine, USA, May 2022 — We interrupt our coverage of the warblers and song birds of Magee Marsh in Ohio and the Biggest Week in American Birding to bring you breaking news from the woods of Maine. The Lady Slipper Orchids are in bloom. I went to Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge where they grow along the loop of trail behind the current headquarters buildings, and found them almost too late, and then yesterday took my eTrike out to the Kennebunk Plains to check the extensive stand in a hidden spot in the woods there. Again this year there were well over 500 orchids in bloom, all along the bank where it rises from the stream. The dappled light and shade provide lots of options for photography. These Lady Slippers are among the most healthy I have ever seen (unlike the ones at Rachel Carson which seem to be more faded each year)…intense pink verging on purple depending on the light…tall and stately, and sometimes half a dozen to a bunch. It is an amazing and an inspiring display of this threatened flower. Sony Rx10iv at 68mm (the macro) and 97mm (the wider view). Program mode with HDR. -.3EV. Nominal exposure: ISO 100, f3.5 @ 1/160th and 1/200th.
Prothonotary Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — Some years at the Biggest Week in American Birding the Prothonotary Warblers, who nest at the marsh, don’t show up until the last days of the festival. Other years they are already there when the birder’s arrive. This was one of those years, at least the second week of the Biggest Week when I visited, when I saw my first Prothonotary on my first day…and when there were at lest 4 pairs building nests along the boardwalk. One pair was even building a nest on the boardwalk, in a cavity between an upright post and the rail. The wardens had to put highway cones and incident tape around it to protect it from the hordes of birders. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 and 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Prothonotary Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — Some years at the Biggest Week in American Birding the Prothonotary Warblers, who nest at the marsh, don’t show up until the last days of the festival. Other years they are already there when the birder’s arrive. This was one of those years, at least the second week of the Biggest Week when I visited, when I saw my first Prothonotary on my first day…and when there were at lest 4 pairs building nests along the boardwalk. One pair was even building a nest on the boardwalk, in a cavity between an upright post and the rail. The wardens had to put highway cones and incident tape around it to protect it from the hordes of birders. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 and 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Killdeer
Killdeer: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — Only a few days old and already photographed more times than almost any other Killdeer in the known universe…this little chick was the most adventuresome of a clutch of chicks (try to count the legs under mom) who were easily seen off the boardwalk at Magee during the Biggest Week in American Birding this May. I don’t think anyone got a definitive count on the chicks, but there were at least 4. Over 5 days there, I could just about watch the chicks grow and become less dependent on the shelter of mom’s breast feathers. By Saturday, they were all out foraging on the mud flats of the channel. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Blue-winged Warbler among Apple Blossoms
Blue-winged Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — This bird was playing hide and seek in the foliage and blossoms of the Apple tree along the boardwalk at Magee Marsh. Confident folks standing with me were identifying this warbler as a “Golden-winged” presumably because of the yellow tint to the wing bars, but it is very likely a first year female Blue-winged. There is a chance it is a hybrid, but I feel better about just calling it a Blue-winged. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 and 200 @ f4 @ 1/640th to 1/500th.
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — Chestnut-sided Warblers gave Magnolias a run for their money, numbers wise, on many days during this year’s Biggest Week in American Birding. And they are another bird that forages at eye-level and close to the boardwalk, as well as being very photogenic. What’s not to like! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 160 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus .7 EV.
Magnolia Warbler
Magnolia Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — The Magnolia Warbler seemed to be the default warbler during the second week of the Biggest Week in American Birding, at least along the boardwalk at Magee. There were more than I ever remember seeing there. And it is such a striking bird. And you have to look at every single one you see, just to make sure it is not, well, the bird you would rather see (Kirtland’s). So the Magnolias keep you busy (and wake). This is all good. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Black-throated Green
Black-throated Green Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — Often among the most numerous and photogenic of the warblers at Magee every May, the Black-throated Green tends to feed right at eye-level and to favor the edges along the boardwalk. This year was no different…though this year it was outnumbered by Magnolia Warblers for the first time in my memory…perhaps it has something to do with the habit changes at Magee. This is adult male in full glorious plumage. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f5 and f5.6 @ 1/1000th.
Warbling Vireo
Warbling Vireo: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — There were as many Warbling Vireos this year at Magee as there were any individual species of warbler…more than most. It seemed that every third bird you looked at was a Warbling Vireo. 🙂 The Vireos are all relatively plain when compared to the bright spring warblers, but they are still good birds to see. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th. (One of the results of the storm damage the marsh suffered last August is the absence of canopy over much of the area, which certainly gives a lot more light for photographers to make use of…and has not seemed to deterred the birds either.)
Northern Parula
Northern Parula: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — The Parulas only came in on the last day I was in Ohio, but when they did, they were unusually cooperative. This one, was spotted along the dead end section that used to be the inner loop of the boardwalk before the giant cottonwood fell across it. The bird came directly toward me at eye-level and ended up too close to focus as it passed within inches of my head. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.